


When There's Nothing Left To Burn You Have To Set Yourself On Fire

by sparkinside (boomersoonerash)



Series: Bite Sized Fics [33]
Category: Everybody Else (Band), Hanson (Band), Phantom Planet
Genre: Actor Taylor, Adult Content, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Male Character, California, Community: comment_fic, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Exes, F/M, Hipsters, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Inner Dialogue, Internal Conflict, M/M, Male Slash, Party, Past Drug Use, Post-Break Up, Prompt Fic, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7790014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boomersoonerash/pseuds/sparkinside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taylor sees an old familiar face at a party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When There's Nothing Left To Burn You Have To Set Yourself On Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlehuntress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlehuntress/gifts).



> Written for a pompt on comment_fic at livejournal: Any, Any,
> 
> You were what I wanted  
> I gave what I gave  
> I'm not sorry I met you  
> I'm not sorry it's over  
> I'm not sorry there's nothing to say

Taylor heaved a soft sigh as he stood outside of the house that he and his brother Zac had went too tonight. It was some party that Zac's friend Carrick had been invited too and somehow by default he had invited Zac and Zac had talked Taylor into going because in the end, Zac could really talk Taylor into anything if he wanted too.

It was a knack his baby brother had and only Zac could do that to him. Not even Taylor's own wife Natalie could talk him into anything. That was reserved only for Zac.

"Hey Tay," Zac called out which brought Taylor out of his thoughts and he turned towards the voice. Seeing Zac walking outside along with Carrick and some other man. A man who was vaguely familiar to Taylor. A face he had seen a lot especially as a scared teenage newlywed stuck in a hipster LA scene.

But no that couldn't be who he thought it was because surely not with the lifestyle that he had lived would he have aged so well or even be alive now. The drugs would have and should have killed him but then again the same probably should have been said about him too. 

At the time that he had known the man he had been huge into drugs too thanks to dabbling because of his inability to get an acting job as well as his impending fatherhood and shotgun wedding.

But then he had seen Ezra for the first time and things suddenly changed. It was like he knew he had to stop doing things out of fear because someone else depended on him and so he had quit the drugs and lost all of the hipster LA scene people that he hung out with.

Which was probably a blessing in disguise because after that, he had gotten an acting job on one of those prime-time teenage soap shows and his career had skyrocketed.

He had became the next big thing in Hollywood and even now fourteen years later he still was. He was still huge and he still had a following and he was doing his best not to go back down the drug route and to be a good husband and a better father to Ezra, Penny and River.

"I was looking every where for you," Zac spoke again when he finally reached Taylor and once again Taylor was drug out of his thoughts. "Just wanted to tell you that I was going to leave with Carrick and his friend Alex Greenwald," he said as he pointed to the other man with him and Carrick and Taylor did his best not to show that he knew who the man was.

That he was familiar with the man...had once had a brief affair with him when Natalie had been pregnant with Ezra. An affair that had started from their mutual love of drugs and the fact that they were probably both searching for something too but neither had held the answers for the other.

"Leave to do what?" Taylor asked feeling himself getting a bit defensive now, especially because he knew how Alex was before and surely even if Alex did look better there was no way that he had changed.

Zac laughed softly as he put a hand on Taylor's back, rubbing it soothingly, "Just to go smoke weed and watch movies," he sighed as he shook his head. "I know not to do anything terribly stupid Tay," he muttered as he leaned in a bit closer. "I saw how you were ages ago. I know what I don't want to become," he said softly before pulling away. "Just wanted you to know though so you'll know to call a cab and get your own way back home," he finished before turning to leave, quickly being followed by Carrick though Alex lingered in place his gaze on Taylor.

"You know I've changed right," Alex finally spoke and Taylor felt his cheeks get hot. "I'm not the same man I was when you knew me."

Taylor looked down and away from Alex, staying silent.

"But I forgot," Alex continued in Taylor's silence. "You wouldn't know that since you just cut me off and out of your life once your kid was here and you got the fame you wanted. Got all the attention you always craved since you always talked about wanting to be as a famous as your parents were," he said a bit too harshly. "Thought I meant something to you though but guess I was wrong. But don't worry I won't corrupt your precious baby brother whom you always doted over. I'm not like that anymore," he finished before walking away and all Taylor could do was watch him go.

Because really what could he say to that? Alex did have a reason in being harsh and angry because Taylor had indeed cut him off but he was wrong in the fact that Alex had never meant nothing to him. Alex did mean something to him and deep down even after all these year he'd never regret Alex or the brief drug fueled months they spent together. Just like he still didn't entirely regret that things were over so maybe in the end his silence was the best thing that could have happened.

Maybe now there was just nothing left to say to Alex and maybe Alex had said it all even if Taylor wasn't entirely sure that Alex wasn't that same man. A man who could and probably would corrupt Zac even if Zac did have a solid rock in his friend Carrick, Zac also had cracks like his failed marriage to Kate and their inability to have children and Alex was awfully good in getting into those cracks.

Taylor just had to hope that Zac meant it when he said that he didn't want to become the shell that Taylor had been years ago when he had been nineteen.

Shaking his head Taylor just reached down to fumble around in the pocket of his jeans until he found his phone. Knowing he'd have to text Isaac and see if his oldest brother could come pick him up because he really didn't want to take a cab back home.


End file.
